1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a portable water heater and, in particular, to a portable hot shower for use while camping, boating, hunting, hiking, fishing, backpacking, emergency use, hazardous materials situations, industrial use, etc.
2. Description of Related Art
Various types of devices have been used for many centuries for heating water, but water heaters that are truly portable and easy to use are not readily available. For example, campers and other outdoor enthusiasts requiring hot water often use a fire or cook stove to heat a container of water. The time required to heat even a small amount of water is significant, for example, up to fifteen or twenty minutes to heat a gallon of water.
Portable showers and hot water heaters that can be used in a variety of situations and locations are also known and have been used for many years, but these conventional portable showers often do not provide adequate hot water. For example, in an attempt to keep such showers small and portable, relatively small heat sources have been used. Unfortunately, these small heat sources are usually not powerful enough to provide the desired supply of hot water. Gas powered devices, which provide a larger heat source, have traditionally not been used because of their size and bulk.
Additionally, conventional portable showers often used gravity to deliver the water to the individual taking a shower. The force of gravity, however, often does not provide adequate water pressure or sufficient force to deliver the water as a fine spray. In addition, gravity powered showers require the user to find a location above the head of the user to place a large reservoir of water, which typically contains about two gallons of water and weighs about twenty pounds. It is often difficult to find a sturdy location to place the reservoir of water, especially when camping in remote or desert locations. It can also be difficult and dangerous to lift the relatively heavy reservoir of water into the desired location. Conventional portable showers have also used pumps to increase water pressure, but these pumps often required a large power source that is heavy and awkward to carry over long distances.
Known portable showers often utilize a large container for holding the water. Typically, the water is heated within the container and a pump or gravity is used to supply the heated water from the container to the user. A significant drawback of these known portable showers is that the size of the container limits the amount of hot water available to the user. Thus, if more than one person wants to take a shower, each person must refill the container with cold water, and that water must be heated before that person can take a hot shower. Heating the reservoir of water often takes a significant amount of time, especially if a small heat source is being used. Additionally, these conventional portable showers heat all the water in the container at the same time, requiring a substantial amount of heat from the heat source and a large amount of time to heat all the water in the container. Thus, depending upon the size of the heat source and container, it can take up to thirty minutes or more to heat the water in the container for a hot shower. Disadvantageously, the heated water in the container, which is generally poorly insulated or not insulated at all, constantly looses heat, thereby prolonging the time required to heat the water for a hot shower.
Conventional portable showers are often not truly portable because they are heavy, awkward to carry, and include a plurality of parts that must be carefully assembled. In addition, conventional portable showers often require the user to assemble and erect a number of components before the shower can be used. Further, many of these known portable showers are expensive and require complex machinery to heat the water.
It is also known to use solar power for portable showers, but solar heated water is dependent on direct sunlight for heat. Thus, if direct sunlight is not available, for instance on a cloudy day, a hot shower is not available. Further, solar heated systems require sunlight for a large portion of the day in order to sufficiently heat the water. Disadvantageously, this often requires the user to stay in one location for an extended period of time while the water is being heated. Another drawback of solar heated systems is the water container is not typically insulated, which allows a large amount of heat loss through the container. Further, solar heated systems do not work efficiently in low ambient temperature environments.
Finally, it is desirous to have a portable shower that can be used in larger scale applications while still remaining portable. Such situations may involve hazardous materials in which a larger portable water heater is desirable to provide a high-strength stream of water to shower down multiple personnel as one of the required sanitation steps or as an emergency precaution. Other situations include industrial use in which a larger portable water heater may be desired for emergency or other applications. However such portable water heaters are not readily available or are cumbersome. Therefore, it would be an advantage to provide a larger-scale water heater that can handle these large-scale applications.